About the U.S.-Africa Initiative in Electronic Structure

American Physical Society American Physical Society Innovation Fund USAfri Logo

The U.S.– Africa Initiative in Electronic Structure (USAfri) aims to create a platform for exchange between African and U.S. physicists with opportunities to have a major impact on research and education in Africa. Electronic Structure is a natural choice because it is an essential part of research with applications in many fields, and there is a network of capable researchers in Africa generated by sustained efforts over the past 10 years.

The U.S.-Africa Initiative in Electronic Structure is supported by of the Innovation Fund of the American Physical Society.

Recent News

The 2022 Research visits funded by USAfrI were concluded: 2022 Electronic Structure Workshop Group Photo of Visiting Researchers on Stage with USAfrI Organizers

African Visitor US Host
B. Ibrahim Adetunji, Nigeria Elif Ertekin, U Illinois
Mesfin A. Afrassa, Ethiopia Mark Pederson, UTexas El Paso
Omololu Akin-Ojo, Nigeria Renata Wentzcovich, Columbia U
George O. Amolo, Kenya Renata Wentzcovich, Columbia U
Georgies A. Asres, Ethiopia Jeffrey Neaton, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
Michael O. Atambo, Kenya Renata Wentzcovich, Columbia U
Anne Justine Etindele, Cameroon Andrés Cisneros, U North Texas
Gebremedhn G. Hagoss, Ethiopia David Prendergast, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
Asnake S. Haile, Ethiopia Tim Kowalczyk, Western Washington U
Denis Magero, Kenya Sandeep Sharma, U Colorado Boulder
Yedilfana S. Mekonnen, Ethiopia Deyu Lu, Brookhaven National Lab
Winfred Mulwa, Kenya Elif Ertekin, U Illinois
Steve A. Ndengué, Cameroon Neepa Maitra, Rutgers U
Gugulethu C. Nkala, South Africa John Rehr, U Washington
Olugbenga M. Oshakuade, Nigeria Alex Urban, Columbia U
Isaac A. Popoola, Nigeria Robert A. DiStasio, Cornell U
Amisi Safari, DR Congo Matt Horton, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
Catherine P. Tairo, Tanzania Maria Chan, Argonne National Lab

Deadline for 2022 IUPAP Conference in Computational Physics is June 30, 2022 The USAfrI organization calls for electronic structure researchers in Africa to submit abstracts and present their research at the virtual IUPAP Conference in Computational Physics to be hosted by the University of Texas at Austin from August 1 to August 4, 2022 (https://ccp2022.oden.utexas.edu/). The conference covers a broad spectrum of topics in computational physics and is not limited to electronic structure. The conference is sponsored by the IUPAP C20 Commission, the Division of Computational Physics (DCOMP) of the American Physical Society (APS), University of Texas, Austin, and the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University. The abstract deadline is June 30, 2022. For more details, please email Renata Wentzcovitch (rmw2150@columbia.edu), James Chelikowsky (jrc@utexas.edu), or Feliciano Giustiuno (fgiustino@oden.utexas.edu).

Deadline for ASESMANET is May 15, 2022ASESMANET opens a call for scientists based in Africa that want to participate and present their research at the Psi-k conference (August 2022 in Lausanne, Switzerland) which usually takes place every 5 years. This call is supported by the Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire (CECAM), the Psi-k network, the National Centre for Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials MARVEL funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and by the Office of External Activities (OEA) of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). Women are particularly encouraged to apply. For more details email  or join the USAfrI Slack Channel.

April 30, 2022 The 2022 Workshop on Recent Developments in Electronic Structure will be a hybrid event, held June 1-3, 2022. To register and to see the program, visit the ES22 website.
April 25, 2022 The second USAfrI Workshop will be held virtually May 25-27, 2022. To register for the USAfrI Workshop, please complete the online Registration Webform.
January 17, 2022 Current list of USAfrI Participants The directory of 2021-2022 Participants of USAfrI, grouped by geographic region
September 26, 2021 Welcome to the 2021-2022 Advisory Board Members for USAfrI

2021-2022 Advisory Board

Name Institution
Gboyega Adebayo Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
Stephon Alexander Brown University & National Society of Black Physicists
George Amolo Technical University of Kenya
Mark Casida Universite Grenoble-Alpes
Maria Chan Argonne National Laboratory
Samuel Chigome Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation
Valentino Cooper Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Lesley Cornish University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Michel Côté Université de Montréal
Gebremedhn Gebreyesus University of Ghana
James Gubernatis Los Alamos National Lab
Matthew Horton Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/UC Berkeley
Steve Kevan Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Malik Maaza iThemba Laboratories for Accelerator Based Sciences (LABS)
Neepa Maitra Rutgers University at Newark
Mark Pederson The University of Texas at El Paso
Warren Pickett University of California, Davis
David Prendergast Molecular Foundry,Berkeley Lab
Andrew Rappe University of Pennsylvania
Richard Scalettar University of California, Davis
Winston Wole Soboyejo Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Hulda Swai The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)
Hisham Widatallah Sultan Qaboos University
August 31, 2021Group photo of 2021 USAfrI Workshop Image Smaller Size (4,000 pixels wide) · Larger Size (9,000 pixels wide)
August 15, 2021Talk announcement "Applying to US graduate schools in STEM fields" , Monday, August 23, 2021 4 PM Addis Ababa US: 6 AM PST / 7 AM MST / 8 AM CST / 9 AM EST Given by: Dr. Sossina Haile, Northwestern University, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Dr. Iwnetim Abate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Incoming Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Zoom Registration link.
August 10, 2021Talks from the USAfrI Workshop are online YouTube Playlist of Workshop Days 1 - 5
June 27, 2021Wrapup of USAfrI Workshop The first USAfri Workshop included more 120 participants from more than 50 institutions in Africa, the US, and Canada. Thanks to all the participants, poster presenters, speakers, and sponsors for such a dynamic workshop. We'll be updating the livestreamed recordings of the talks on YouTube and links to the presentation slides, when available. If you were a participant: we will email you a list of participants' contact information soon. Playlist of Workshop Days 1 - 5
June 4, 2021USAfrI Pre-Workshop Short Program YouTube recording of Mr. Zhen Zhang's (Columbia University, New York, USA) talk on how to calculate "anharmonic properties" of materials.
April 20, 2021 Peer Program to Connect Young Researchers

We are starting a Peer Program to help connect young researchers in Africa and the US. Our hope is that peers will meet virtually to discuss their research interests with people outside of their usual circle.

Peer meet-ups will run from March 15, 2021 to June 30, 2021, after the APS 2021 March Meeting mini-workshop and the planned workshop planned at EAIFR June 14-18, 2021. Peer meet-ups can be conducted over the phone or virtually. We also plan to host monthly meet-ups for all peers.